[PRP] Homeward Bound (Ami + Lex) [FIN]

[chiickadee]

Ami's cheeks puffed out in annoyance as he made fun of her. She couldn't help that she liked The Hobbit. It was a good book! And good books were meant to be appreciated!

She looked away and said, "Please." She might have scooted closer so she could read along with his voice.  

[Carhop Cavalier]

He grinned inwardly as she pouted, but continued on to read through some of the first chapter, keeping his tone and fluctuation that of his normal speech. He was certainly no Morgan Freeman, but he got the job done - in his opinion.

"It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats—the hobbit was fond of visitors. The tunnel wound on and on, going fairly but not quite straight into the side of the hill—The Hill, as all the people for many miles round called it—and many little round doors opened out of it, first on one side and then on another. No going upstairs for the hobbit: bedrooms, bathrooms, cellars, pantries (lots of these), wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes), kitchens, dining-rooms, all were on the same floor, and indeed on the same passage. The best rooms were all on the left-hand side (going in), for these were the only ones to have windows, deep-set round windows looking over his garden, and meadows beyond, sloping down to the river."

He stopped at that point, looking up and over at Ami, who was indeed reading along with his voice. A small smile at that.

"Sounds like a great place to live, really. Just add two or three feet to the ceiling and I would love it."  

[chiickadee]

"They make them," Ami commented. "They have some for sale in Montana I believe."

Yes, Ami had looked into it.  

[Carhop Cavalier]

Lex tried to stifle the chortle - he really did try, going as far as to fake cough, but he just couldn't. The fact that Ami had actually looked into real life Hobbit Holes? That was amazingly obsessed.

"Someone really likes their Tolkien." He chuckled, turning the page of the book. It wasn't that her liking of the author was a bad thing, (he was actually one of Lex's favorites) he just hadn't expected her to actually have looked into real life Hobbit Holes.

He calmed his laughter and began to read again. smiling all the while.

"This hobbit was a very well-to-do hobbit, and his name was Baggins. The Bagginses had lived in the neighbourhood of The Hill for time out of mind, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most of them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected: you could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have lost the neighbours’ respect, but he gained—well, you will see whether he gained anything in the end."  

[chiickadee]

Ami's head tilted back onto the wall, not finding anything to lean against comfortably. There was Lex, but that wasn't happening any time soon, and there were pillows, but she was too far from her reach to be executed elegantly.

As he read the last line, she found herself thinking about the people she'd lost- her father, Adam, the shame she'd felt. Had she gained anything? Ami supposed it should have been a sense of duty and fulfillment- protecting the human race and all. So far though, she didn't feel much different. Worse, even.

"Do you think becoming a hunter was worth it?" she asked quietly and abruptly. "Leaving everything ... have you gained anything, Mr. Baggins?" Ami wondered how much the man had even done in the few months he'd been here.

It occurred to her that her birthday marked almost a year at Deus. Time seemed to pass so quickly. She'd changed so much from the chipper girl she'd been last year. Perhaps gain wasn't a good thing. "I mean ... do you miss it?"  

[Carhop Cavalier]

He was about to start reading again as Ami asked her question, causing him to put the book down and his face to slowly change from a smile to a blank look.

Had he gained anything?

Knowledge, certainly. He'd gained more knowledge than he ever thought about things that he thought only existed in the hyperactive imaginations of young boys and girls, as well as they human body and psyche.

New acquaintances, he supposed. Ami, Solia, Nevada, Roland, even Wilson and Madeline.

But he'd also found out what it was to truly deal with the darkness, and how humans were so much smaller than he thought. He'd learned that he wasn't invincible, and that there was a possibility of death lurking around every corner.

And this was all in his first three months of being on the island. There was much more to learn.

"I...miss normality, at times." He started, eyes lighting up a little. But I suppose this is sort of worth it, though with far less heroics than I had imagined."  

[chiickadee]

Ami responded to Lex without words, eyes slowly falling to her hands in pensive thought. After a moment or two, she simply said, "Keep reading." It was better if Lex kept reading. She could focus on his comforting voice, the story being told- there was no need for her own problems in the Shire.

---

Somehow they'd made it through a small chunk of the book, where Ami found herself blinking lethargically. It was odd, reading usually kept her awake, but somehow Lex made her sleepy. It was probably the white noise of his repetitive voice.

Still, she didn't know how to tell Lex to leave. If she said it bluntly, it would sound rude. If she said it too lightly, he might not take the hint. Instead, she just said, "Thank you. For the reading and what have you." She listlessly took a breath and said, "You have a lovely voice."  

[Carhop Cavalier]

Lex gave a small smile at her words, lips twitching a bit at how casually she had said 'what have you.' She obviously meant no offense, and more than likely enjoyed the food - but he had to remember that she probably loved books more than life.

He closed the book after having dog eared the page, patting her hand lightly before he got up. He could tell it was time for him to leave.

"Thank you for letting me spend your birthday with you. It was fun." He said, picking up the bowl and spoon that he'd delivered soup in.

"Ahaha, thanks. You're bound to be a much better reader than I, though."  

[chiickadee]

Ami frowned slightly at the dog-earing. She appreciated a well-read book, but to slightly damage the goods? Not okay. She resolved to buy Lex a bookmark.

A gentle pink came to her cheeks as Lex complimented her and she mumbled, "Practice makes perfect." A glance at the clock- it was nearly midnight. Had they really spent four hours together? Ami looked down, still not quite used to the fact that people wanted to spend time for her.

"Um ..." she stumbled, words not quite forming the way she wanted. "You'll ... come read again some time?"  

[Carhop Cavalier]

He chuckled a bit at her request, though debated inwardly about his next move. He had enjoyed spending time with Ami, certainly, but what should he do? Try to rope her into his little web? Or maybe just make her another normal acquaintance?

Oh, what the hell. She was cute.

"Of course." He said, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. "Good night, birthday girl."  

[chiickadee]

A scowl creased across her face, forehead wrinkling in the very spot Lex had just kissed. As he walked out the room, her mood soured, jealous of the way he so easily carried himself out the door. She shrugged herself out of her protective sheath of a jacket, not bothering- for once- to hang it up, but instead letting it sit limply on the ground like a rag.

As she climbed under the covers, she sighed with confusion and annoyance. A hand went to touch the spot he'd laid his lips on, uncertain about what it all meant.

It was probably just a cultural farewell. It didn't mean anything at all.

She closed her eyes, ignoring the frustration she felt and tried to sleep. It came surprisingly quickly.